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How an aging $38,000 Nissan Frontier stacks up against newer trucks from Ford, Chevy, Jeep, and Toyota

<ul class="summary-list"><li>I tested a 2020 <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/category/renault-nissan-alliance">Nissan</a> Titan PRO-4X <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/category/pickup-trucks">pickup truck</a>, a longtime also-ran in the red-hot US full-size market.</li><li>The Nissan Titan has always had a tough time stealing buyers from Ford, Chevy, GMC, and RAM, as well as Toyota. But as pickup-truck sales have boomed, the Titan doubled deliveries in 2017 and held onto those gains in 2018. </li><li>So Nissan elected to update the half-ton for 2020.</li><li>My well-equipped tester cost about $50,000 - an appealing price for a truck with this much going on.</li><li>I kinda sorta liked the Nissan Titan, but it's definitely challenged when you compare it with the big guys from Detroit.</li><li><strong><a href="http://newsletter.businessinsider.com/join/4np/shiftinggears">Sign up for Business Insider's transportation newsletter, Shifting Gears, to get more stories like this in your inbox</a>.</strong></li><li><strong><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/?hprecirc-bullet">Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories</a>.</strong></li></ul><p>You never stop hearing about the mighty Ford F-150, America's truck. And soon after, the contingent that would rather carry a Chevy hubcap down the street than drive a Ford pipes up about the Silverado. Fancier GM customers then bring up the GMC Sierra. And lest we forget, the RAM 1500 has its partisans - and we named the all-new pickup <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/ram-1500-pickup-truck-business-insider-car-year-winner-2019-11">our 2019 Business Insider Car of the Year</a>.</p><p>If you must, must, must go Japanese, then Toyota's Tundra is likely your first choice.</p><p>At long last, we arrive at the forgotten man of the US truck market: The Nissan Titan.</p><p>Personally, I try not to forget about it, given that it's been around since 2004. Sales have also risen of late, as a pickup boom has affected the American psyche. </p><p>So when Nissan asked me if I'd like to sample the updated 2020 Titan, I said, "Toss me the key!"</p><p>Here's how it went:</p>

I drove a $50,000 Nissan Titan to see if this updated full-size pickup could take on the Ford F-150, Chevy Silverado, and RAM 1500

<ul class="summary-list"><li>The hype cycle is as strong as ever, but has AI actually peaked already?</li><li>No AI model has convincingly beaten OpenAI's GPT-4 since it was released in March.</li></ul><p>We are only one year into a <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/everything-you-need-to-know-about-chat-gpt-2023-1"><u>post-ChatGPT world</u></a>, so it may seem a bit premature to question whether we've reached peak AI. Rarely, if ever, does the peak version of a technology emerge within year one — and <span>AI's main goal of </span><a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/what-is-agi-artificial-general-intelligence-explained-2023-5?r=US&amp;IR=T"><span>artificial general intelligence (AGI)</span></a><span> is still all to play for.</span></p><p>Hear me out, though.</p><p>It's been a huge year for AI. <a target="_blank" href="https://www.gatesnotes.com/The-Year-Ahead-2024"><u>In a blog published Tuesday</u></a>, Bill Gates wrote at length about how "it's clearer than ever how AI can be used to improve access to education, mental health, and more."</p><p>But as we head into 2024, the question to ask seems less about <em>how</em> AI would be used. Instead, it's more about whether <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/generative-ai-big-tech-responsible-online-content-section-230-2023-12"><u>generative AI,</u></a> today's most popular form of the technology, is already peaking.</p><p>In other words, is a step-change in performance in today's most advanced generative AI models even possible?</p><p>Researchers say, in theory, increases in performance are possible. But in practice, it's harder to achieve them.</p><p>Much of this discussion has been prompted following the release of Gemini. The <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/google-gemini-explainer-ai-model-2023-9"><u>long-awaited AI model</u></a> was finally unveiled on December 6 as "Google's most capable AI model yet."</p><p>It was also meant to be Google's response to <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/openai-gpt4-ai-model-got-lazier-dumber-chatgpt-2023-7"><u>OpenAI's GPT-4</u></a>, the large language model powering ChatGPT. With Gemini's release coming nine months after GPT-4, expectations were high for it to push the generative AI field forward.</p><p>But Google's own data suggests expectations have been tough to meet. Gemini Ultra, an advanced version of <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/gemini-ai-google-search-company-internal-data-chatgpt-competitor-2023-12"><u>Google's AI model</u></a> that's coming next year, barely inches ahead of GPT-4 on performance benchmarks.</p><p>On a measure of reading comprehension, <a target="_blank" href="https://blog.google/technology/ai/google-gemini-ai/#sundar-note"><u>Gemini Ultra scored 82.4 versus GPT-4's 80.9. </u></a>Gemini Ultra actually lost to GPT-4 on a benchmark measuring commonsense reasoning for everyday tasks.</p><p>Ethan Mollick, an associate professor teaching innovation at Wharton, <a target="_blank" href="https://x.com/emollick/status/1737288153432469744?s=20"><u>noted on X on Tuesday</u></a> that "it's been a year &amp; no one has beaten GPT-4."</p><p>There has been a slate of AI models released that match an earlier version of OpenAI's LLM. Elon Musk's Grok, open-source model Mixtral, and Google's Gemini Pro model seem on par with GPT-3.5, albeit with slightly lower accuracy. A <a target="_blank" href="https://arxiv.org/abs/2312.11444"><u>pre-print paper submitted to ArXiv</u></a> on Monday by researchers at Carnegie Mellon University <a target="_blank" href="https://x.com/gneubig/status/1737108975039201533?s=20"><u>confirmed this for Gemini Pro.</u></a></p><p>But no one has convincingly beaten GPT-4 yet.</p><p>"Will they? Is there some magic there? Does it indicate a limit to LLMs? Will GPT-4.5 be another huge jump?" Mollick wrote on X.</p> <p>The industry is certainly keen to see a huge jump. Artificial general intelligence, essentially AI demonstrating cognitive abilities on the same level as humans, is the stated goal of key figures like OpenAI boss Sam Altman.</p><p>Despite no model emerging to convincingly beat GPT-4 yet, there's a chance that one might emerge eventually.</p><p>Transformers, the neural networks powering LLMs, scale well when they have more parameters — the number of variables within an AI model — to work with. OpenAI has not disclosed how many parameters its models have, but <a target="_blank" href="https://www.technologyreview.com/2021/02/24/1017797/gpt3-best-worst-ai-openai-natural-language/">some estimates suggest GPT-3 had roughly 175 billion parameters</a>.</p><p>Alex Voica, a consultant at the Mohamed bin Zayed University of Artificial Intelligence, told Business Insider that transformer models do "scale quite linearly with the amount of data and compute" they're given. </p><p>That means if you power these models with many more AI processors, such as GPUs, or increase their number of parameters exponentially, they should perform much better.</p><p>But that's not exactly practical. "That's really nice if you're a company that can afford either to have vast amounts of data available — and there are only a handful of those companies around right now — and if you have vast amounts of compute," Voica said.</p><p>It's not just a practical issue, either. Recent research has pointed to transformers potentially having other limitations that might stop the industry from reaching AGI.</p><p><a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/google-researchers-have-turned-agi-race-upside-down-with-paper-2023-11"><u>Google researchers published a paper last month</u></a> suggesting that transformers aren't very good at generalizing. That's not a great sign if Altman and his rivals are hoping their transformer-based technologies will help them reach AGI.</p><p>Voica said several tech giants are working on solutions to this. One example is<a target="_blank" href="https://arxiv.org/abs/1803.10122"> the world model</a>. In simple terms, this would be a technical development on top of a transformer that gives it some capacity for reasoning.</p><p>"The transformer model is the equivalent of having really good memory, but the main limitation of that is the moment you step outside of its very good memory, it just falls apart very quickly," Voica said.</p><p>"However if you can add to that vast memory the capacity to do some reasoning, which is the world model, then you would have something that is truly useful."</p><p>It seems, however, that companies are not yet ready for a world model to enter the mainstream.</p>

How close are we to peak AI?

<p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_right"><div><div class="image on-image"><p class="source"><span>Mercedes-Benz</span></p><p class="caption">The Mercedes-Benz X-Class.</p></div><p></p></div></div></p><ul><li><strong>The Mercedes-Benz X-Class is the company's first true pickup truck.</strong></li><li><strong>It's not available for sale in the US.</strong></li><li><strong>Questionable whether it would be profitable.</strong></li><li><strong>It also doesn't fit with the brand's luxury ethos.</strong></li><li><strong>The X-Class is also built on a Renault-Nissan platform</strong>.</li></ul><p>This week, Mercedes-Benz unveiled the production version of its long-awaited X-Class pickup truck in Cape Town, South Africa.</p><p>Although the German automaker has a long and storied history of producing rugged utility vehicles alongside its luxury cars, the X-Class is the brand's first true pickup.</p><p>According to Mercedes, the X-Class is scheduled to launch in Europe this November followed by South Africa, Australia, and New Zealand in 2018. Argentina and Brazil will get the truck in 2019.</p><p>However, one market is conspicuously missing from the list. The largest and most profitable truck market in the world, the United States of America.</p><p>Unfortunately, there isn't a typo to be corrected. A Mercedes-Benz spokesman confirmed to Business Insider that the company has no plans to bring the X-Class to the US. Thus far, the company has not given a full explanation as to why the US of A won't see the truck.</p><p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><p class="source"><span>Mercedes-Benz</span></p></div><p></p></div></div>After all, the US pickup market is massive. The <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/best-selling-cars-pickup-trucks-vehicle-america-2016-2017-7" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">three best selling vehicles in America last year</a> were all pickups.</p><p>But, take a deeper dive into the mechanics of the US truck market and it becomes fairly clear why the X-Class, at least for now, isn't coming to America.</p><p>Even though automakers have sold more than 1.3 million pickups in the US this year, 1.12 million of them have been full-size trucks like the Ford F-150 and the Chevrolet Silverado. The X-Class, on the other hand, is a mid-size truck and that market is much smaller.</p><p>(Competition in the full-size segment is so brutally competitive that industry heavyweights like Toyota and Nissan have struggled to gain any type of market traction. The two brands accounted for just of 78,000 of the 1.12 million in sales this year while Detroit's big three have neatly carved up the rest of the market.)</p><p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><p class="source"><span>Mercedes-Benz</span></p></div><p></p></div></div>For Mercedes, the profitability of bringing an all-new truck into the market is questionable. Through June, consumers have purchased only 216,000 mid-size pickups in the US with annual growth at roughly 2.4%. The full-size segment is growing at 4.8% annually.</p><p>Further, Kelley Blue Book data shows the average transaction price for the segment at $32,000 - well below the $43,000 base price Mercedes set for the X-Class in Germany.</p><p>Unless Mercedes is willing to sell the X-Class in the US as a purely utilitarian work truck alongside the Metris and Sprinter commercial vans, anything less than $40,000 for a mid-size product doesn't coalesce with the brand's premium pricing strategy. For comparison, the cheapest Mercedes-Benz crossover is the GLA at $33,400 while the mid-size GLE starts at $52,200.</p><p>And the utility route is what Mercedes seems to be taking with the X-Class. After all, it's a product of the Mercedes-Benz Vans - the same division responsible for the Metris and Sprinter.</p><p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><p class="source"><span>Mercedes-Benz</span></p></div><p></p></div></div>In addition to luxury cars, Mercedes-Benz is known globally for producing reliable work vehicles ranging from taxis to cargo vans. In the US, however, it's a brand known almost exclusively as a purveyor of luxury autos. And it's a mystique that lets Mercedes charge its customers a price premium for the privilege of experiencing the luxury, performance, and refinement of its products.</p><p>Having seen the interior of the new X-Class, it's one that's definitely geared more toward surviving wear and tear than the cosseting leather-lined cocoons we are used to seeing in Mercedes' passenger cars.</p><p>(In case you're curious, power for the X-Class comes from a selection of turbodiesel engines with the most powerful rated at 258 horsepower. A 165 horsepower gasoline engine is available, but only in select markets like Dubai or Morocco. If, by some miracle, the X-Class does make it to the US, expect it to have more market appropriate powertrain options.)</p><p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><p class="source"><span>Mercedes-Benz</span></p></div><p></p></div></div>Finally, there's the matter of the mechanics of the truck itself. Even though it's badged as a Mercedes-Benz, the X-Class is actually built on a Renault-Nissan platform at Renault-Nissan plants in Spain and Argentina.</p><p>According to <a href="http://www.automobilemag.com/news/watch-the-world-premiere-of-the-mercedes-benz-x-class/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Automobile</a>, the X-Class sits on the same platform that underpins Nissan's NP300 Navarra mid-size pickup. However, the NP300 Navarra isn't available in the US. (We're waiting to hear back from Nissan as to why.) Instead, Nissan is still selling the 13-year-old previous-generation version of the truck as the Frontier.</p><p>That means Mercedes-Benz would have to work out an arrangement with Nissan should it choose to sell the X-Class in the US.</p><p>So, there you have it. The Mercedes-Benz X-Class isn't coming to America. Even though, on the surface, it makes for a tantalizing option, the economics and the branding challenges associated with bringing the truck to the US simply doesn't make sense right now.</p>    <div class="margin-top">        <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/henry-blodget-more-skepticism-around-trumponomics-imf-growth-forecasts-2017-6">HENRY BLODGET: Seeing more skepticism around Trumponomics</a></h3>        <div>            <div>        <div class="ooyala-video-player" data-video-autoplay="false" data-video-id="50N2pyYjE6nStK0w2LZMeKMNxAoc7UAg" data-player-variable="ooyalapopvideo" id="ooyalaplayer_popvideo" style="width:1280px;height:720px"></div>        </div>        </div>            </div>

Why Americans can't buy the new Mercedes-Benz pickup truck

<ul class="summary-list"><li>This is a preview of <strong><em><em>The Payments Ecosystem</em></em></strong> research report from Business Insider Intelligence.</li><li><a href="https://store.businessinsider.com/products/the-payments-ecosystem?IR=T&amp;itm_source=businessinsider&amp;itm_medium=content_marketing&amp;itm_campaign=report_teaser&amp;itm_content=full_report_text&amp;itm_term=store_text_link-/mobile-commerce-shopping-trends-stats&amp;vertical=paycom#!/">Purchase this report.</a></li><li><a href="https://store.businessinsider.com/products/payments-commerce-pro-membership?IR=T&amp;itm_source=businessinsider&amp;itm_medium=content_marketing&amp;itm_campaign=report_teaser&amp;itm_content=top_text&amp;itm_term=bii_subscription_text_link-/mobile-commerce-shopping-trends-stats">Business Insider Intelligence offers even more consumer coverage with Payments &amp; Commerce Pro. Subscribe today to receive industry-changing payments and commerce news and analysis to your inbox.</a></li></ul><p>E-commerce has been on the rise massively in recent years, but it may not be the next true frontier for shopping as m-commerce continues to become more popular.</p><p>But just what is m-commerce, and how do we compare e-commerce vs. m-commerce? </p><p>Simply put, m-commerce involves shopping through a mobile device (typically a smartphone), while e-commerce involves shopping online through your computer.</p><p>And m-commerce is poised to burst into the mainstream thanks to a host of technological advances that are making it easier for people to shop on their phones. Below, we've outlined the road ahead for m-commerce growth and detailed some mobile shopping statistics.</p><h2>Mobile Commerce Industry Advantages</h2><p>M-commerce has the potential to become a major channel for shopping and to change consumer shopping habits. Consumers are reliant on digital devices now more than ever, and Business Insider Intelligence predicts that mobile will inch closer to becoming consumers' preferred channel for online shopping within the next five years. </p><p>Social media sites such as Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest have all introduced "buy buttons" that let shoppers make purchases without having to leave the platform. And many retailers have introduced one-click checkout to their sites. This method requires shoppers to enter their payment information once, and then they can use the one-click option to make purchases without having to re-enter it.</p><p>As app usage continues to grow, it will be a major contributor to sales growth, especially with Millennials and Gen Zers holding massive spending power. These tech-savvy consumers have the ability to boost volume, as they're more likely to do a wider share of shopping on their smartphones.</p><h2>M-Commerce Market Share and Size</h2><p>M-commerce will rise in the coming years as e-commerce grows to become a larger portion of total U.S. retail sales. In 2019 m-commerce comprised over a quarter of total e-commerce - more than doubling since 2015.</p><p>BI Intelligence, Business Insider's premium research service, used this data to forecast that m-commerce will reach $284 billion, or 45% of the total U.S. e-commerce market, by 2020.</p><h2>M-Commerce Statistics</h2><p>Business Insider Intelligence predicts m-commerce volume to rise at a 25.5% compound annula growth rate (CAGR) from 2019 to hit $488.0 billion, or 44% of e-commerce, in 2024. And there are two key devices driving the m-commerce revolution: smartphones and tablets.</p><p>Despite historically suffering poor conversion rates because of customer frustration from having to checkout on a small screen, smartphones have become the driving force behind m-commerce growth. US volume is poised to increase from $128.4 billion in 2019 to $418.9 billion through 2024. </p><p>Tablets, though paling in comparison to smartphone m-commerce volume, are also massively contirnuting to the success of m-commerce. Business Insider Intelligence expects $29 billion to be spent on tablets in 2019, increasing to $69 billion in 2024 - an 18.9% CAGR. </p><h2>More to Learn</h2><p>Mobile shopping trends are pointing to m-commerce as the wave of the future for shoppers. But mobile shopping is just one aspect of the broader payments ecosystem.</p><p>That's why BI Intelligence spent months compiling the best and most exhaustive guide on the world of payments entitled <em><strong>The Payments Ecosystem Report</strong></em><strong><em>.</em></strong></p><p><strong><em>Interested in getting the full report? 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Rise of M-Commerce: Mobile Ecommerce Shopping Stats & Trends in 2020

<ul class="summary-list"><li>The <keyword id="7086137" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="jeep-gladiator">Jeep Gladiator</keyword> is a Wrangler-based pickup truck, which starts at $33,545 and has seven trim options. The most expensive version starts at $51,745.</li><li>Every trim features a Pentastar V6 with 285 horsepower and 260 pound-feet of torque, and most feature the choice of either a six-speed manual or an eight-speed automatic transmission.</li><li>The Gladiator is really great at off-roading and hauling, but it's not the best highway cruiser.</li><li>My loaner came out to a total MSRP of $62,020.</li></ul><p>When the nice media fleet people kindly dropped the 2020 <keyword id="161559" type="COMPANY" weightage="60" keywordseo="jeep">Jeep</keyword> Gladiator off in front of my Brooklyn apartment, I had to laugh. Contrasted sharply against the gray concrete and the similarly gray cars typically parked here, the orange Jeep was garish, lurid, and rude. A punchline straight to the eyes.</p><p>But it wasn't just the color. There was presence. The Gladiator stands tall; it has beefy, all-terrain tires. Swaths of blocky, black trim. Squared-off fenders that stick out inches from the body. A design composed of straight lines and right angles.</p><p><div type="image" title="2020 Jeep Gladiator Rubicon107" height="1333" width="2000" msid="76323132" hostid="261"></div>The good news is that the Jeep Gladiator's look will likely age well; straight lines and 90-degree angles don't exactly go out of fashion.</p><h2>The 2020 Jeep Gladiator: Jeep went wild on the optional features </h2><p>The Gladiator is Jeep's take on the highly lucrative midsize pickup truck market. Designed to compete against the likes of the Honda Ridgeline, Chevrolet Colorado, GMC Canyon, Nissan Frontier, Ford Ranger, and Toyota Tacoma, the Gladiator offers four-wheel drive, a five-foot bed, off-roading prowess, and Jeepish looks. </p><p>In fact, if you were to eye it straight in the familiar seven-slot grille-face, you wouldn't be able to tell there's a pickup bed attached back there at all. From the side, too, its front half is a Jeep Wrangler. Its back half is a rectangle. </p><p><div type="image" title="2020 Jeep Gladiator Rubicon96" height="3000" width="2000" msid="76323134" hostid="261"></div></p><p>Jeep offers <a href="https://www.jeep.com/bmo.gladiator.2020.html#/models/2020/gladiator?app=bmo&amp;vehicle=gladiator&amp;year=2020ear=2020">seven trims</a> for the 2020 Gladiator. The cheapest is the Sport, which starts at $33,545. The most expensive is the High Altitude, which starts at $51,745. For the purpose of my review, Jeep loaned me the Gladiator Rubicon — tied for the second most expensive in the lineup.</p><p><div type="image" title="Jeep Gladiator trims" height="769" width="1400" msid="76323138" hostid="261"></div></p><p>Rubicon Gladiators come with trimmings like an available forward-facing off-road camera, LED headlights and fog lights, protective cab and cargo-bed rock rails, two-piece body-color fender flares with black insert, 33-inch tires as standard, and a fancy Rock-Trac 4x4 system, good for scaling over obstacles while traversing off road. </p><p>My loaner was also outfitted with seemingly all of these options: leather-trimmed bucket seats ($1,495), a premium audio system ($1,695), a roll-up <a href="https://shop.advanceautoparts.com/r/advice/car-truck-mods/tonneau-cover">tonneau cover</a> ($595), adaptive cruise control ($795), an eight-speed automatic 850RE transmission ($2,000), a body-color three-piece hardtop ($2,295), a winch-capable steel front bumper ($795), 17-inch polished black aluminum wheels ($995), and the forward-facing trail camera ($595).</p><p><div type="image" title="2020 Jeep Gladiator Rubicon88" height="1333" width="2000" msid="76323140" hostid="261"></div></p><p>In all, the total price of the vehicle came to a whopping $62,020. </p><p>Show me the person who would realistically option their Gladiator in such a fashion, because I cannot imagine them. $62,000 is a lot of money for a midsize pickup! The options Jeep gave its press car were appreciated, but they didn't really add or detract from the truck's primary job, which is being a truck.</p><h2>Details and safety ratings: Built for off-roading, but not for fuel economy</h2><p>Powered by a 3.6-liter Pentastar V6 engine, the Gladiator makes a claimed 285 horsepower and 260 pound-feet of torque. A six-speed manual comes standard, but an eight-speed automatic is optional.</p><p><div type="image" title="2020 Jeep Gladiator Rubicon99" height="1333" width="2000" msid="76323144" hostid="261"></div></p><p>The engine is designed to produce low-range torque — meaning that it's best-suited for low speeds and doing low-speed things, such as off-roading, driving during harsh conditions, hauling cargo, or towing something. </p><p>The Gladiator is based on the same platform as the current Wrangler and utilizes a body-on-frame design: the vehicle's frame and body are two different pieces. True, it means the Gladiator is perhaps heavier and less fuel-efficient than something with a unibody construction — where frame and body are combined into one piece. </p><p>But it also means that the Gladiator was designed from the ground up as something intended for off-roading and transporting heavy loads. Body-on-frame vehicles are generally cheaper to build, too.</p><p><div type="image" title="2020 Jeep Gladiator Rubicon93" height="1333" width="2000" msid="76323148" hostid="261"></div></p><p>Rubicon-trim Gladiators also wear a Jeep Trail Rated badge, which means that they have added ground clearance, big tires, 30 inches of water fording ability, and up to 7,650 pounds of towing capacity. </p><p>Although the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has not yet given the 2020 Gladiator an overall safety rating, it did <a href="https://www.nhtsa.gov/vehicle/2020/JEEP/GLADIATOR/PU%25252FCC/4WD#safety-ratings-frontal" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">award the truck</a> four out of five stars for overall frontal crashworthiness. The front driver side earned four stars, while the front passenger side earned five stars. Side crash hasn't been rated, but rollover scored a mere three stars. The agency reported a 26.7% risk of rollover.</p><h2>What stands out: The thing is a god in its off-roading element</h2><p>Despite its fearsome and rugged looks, the Gladiator is actually a comfortable place to spend a few hours during long commutes. There's abundant room in the cabin for four passengers, and even the rear seats are roomy. Plenty of headroom and legroom. </p><p><div type="image" title="2020 Jeep Gladiator Rubicon97" height="3000" width="2000" msid="76323152" hostid="261"></div></p><p>The bed, for us, hauled two suitcases, two backpacks, bags of groceries, electronics, a purse, a laundry hamper, and two large director's chairs. Jeep provided a tonneau cover and that came in very handy, as it kept all of our stuff dry. </p><p>Some light off-roading later, it was clear to me the big Jeep was in its element. Trundling up and down grassy knolls and through the woods, the Gladiator happily bumped, tilted, and thumped across the uneven terrain, always solidly planted. </p><p>The off-roading suspension drank in the turbulence — not so much soaking it up completely so that you, the driver, would be numb to it — but rather in a way that was pliable and inspired confidence. </p><p><div type="image" title="2020 Jeep Gladiator Rubicon115" height="1333" width="2000" msid="76323155" hostid="261"></div></p><p>Driving the truck across this sort of environment was akin to sitting astride a very sure-footed, four-legged animal. Sure, I wouldn't recommend doing it with an open mug of coffee in your hand, but all four wheels consistently felt they were working together, cohesively, under me. </p><p>That feeling was a direct result of the truck's four-wheel drive and locking differentials — which allows both wheels on an axle to travel at the same speed so when one wheel loses traction, both keep spinning and hopefully will pull you out of the low-traction situation.</p><p>The 11.1 inches of ground clearance also meant that the Gladiator could crawl over a great number of things in its way. The trunk of a fallen birch tree, for example, would have torn off the front bumper of (and caused significant damage to) your average crossover or SUV, but the truck stepped right over the obstacle and thought nothing of it. </p><p><div type="image" title="2020 Jeep Gladiator Rubicon109" height="3000" width="2000" msid="76323160" hostid="261"></div></p><h2>What falls short: Not a happy highway camper </h2><p>The saying, "jack of all trades, master of none" unfortunately rings extremely true here. As stoked as the Gladiator clearly is while splashing about in muck or sand, it doesn't do the highway cruising with nearly as much gumption. </p><p>Don't get me wrong; the Gladiator is a very fine around-town commuter, great for running errands. You sit high and can easily see around and over other cars — a very big deal for a short person such as myself. </p><p>But once you hit the highway, that confidence and sure-footedness from the low-speed off-roading all but evaporates. The bouncy suspension, so well optimized for uncivilized terrain, feeds some unwelcome wobbliness into the cabin. The big, all-terrain tires hum loudly at high speed. </p><p><div type="image" title="Jeep Gladiator4" height="1333" width="2000" msid="76323163" hostid="261"></div></p><p>The Jeep also didn't like maintaining highway speeds. Other cars merely require periodic throttle inputs to keep up consistent speeds of about 65 mph or so; pretty effortless and thoughtless stuff. The Gladiator felt as though it was constantly driving through molasses that kept dragging its speed down. Eventually, I gave up trying to hold to a constant speed by myself and instead switched on the cruise control. </p><p>And thanks to the approximate aerodynamics of a brick, I observed the Gladiator to return an average of 19.2 mpg during the course of my loan, which included city driving, highway driving, and around-town errand running. On the truck's window sticker, the EPA gives the Gladiator a fuel economy and greenhouse-gas rating of three out of 10. </p><p>Hardware wise, I do wish the wing mirrors stuck out a bit further. The Gladiator is a long vehicle and it isn't always easy to see where it ends. It has thick C-pillars, which result in blind spots during over-the-shoulder glances. Wing mirrors with a wider field of view would have been helpful there. </p><p><div type="image" title="2020 Jeep Gladiator Rubicon142" height="1333" width="2000" msid="76323167" hostid="261"></div></p><h2><strong>How the Gladiator compares to its competitors: A bit more expensive, and a bit more uncouth </strong></h2><p>Compared to other midsize <keyword id="47193" type="ENTERTAINMENT" weightage="60" keywordseo="trucks">trucks</keyword> available to US buyers, the Gladiator's base price is high. If your sole buying criteria is for a midsize truck, then the Ford Ranger would be a fine thing to bring home. The Ranger starts at $24,410, and its 4WD version gets an EPA-estimated 20 mpg in the city and 24 mpg on the highway. The Gladiator with the automatic transmission gets an EPA-estimated 17 mpg in the city and 22 mpg on the highway.</p><p>Certainly, other trucks are likely more comfortable and civilized than the rather uncouth Gladiator. That's the new truck trend these days: SUV-like quality and comfort, but with a bed for all your stuff. </p><p>But if you want a truck where you can pull its doors off, a truck that revels in getting muddy from playtime and going where there are no roads, the Gladiator is for you. It'll do the suburban life just fine, but you can tell its heart is elsewhere.</p><p><div type="image" title="Jeep Gladiator2" height="1333" width="2000" msid="76323171" hostid="261"></div></p><h2><strong>Our impressions: Maybe if I didn't live in Brooklyn</strong></h2><p>Perhaps this is a uniquely Me Problem, but I actually felt too short for the Gladiator. At five-foot-three, I was disappointed by the truck's lack of running boards (don't worry, you can get them as an option). It took several days for me to get used to the massive step up I had to take to climb into the cabin. Twice, while exiting backward, I misjudged the distance from the truck to the ground and nearly fell out of it.</p><p>Thankfully, the Jeep has handles at the A- and B-pillars that passengers can use to pull themselves up, but this crutch falls apart when you approach the truck with items in both hands, such as a phone, car keys, and a beverage. Even if you manage to open the door with one finger, you'll still need to first reach into the truck to put everything down before grabbing the handle to hoist yourself in. It's an extra step. </p><p>The lofty ground clearance — so great for fallen trees and the like! — also means that the bed is quite high up. Maybe you're tall enough that you can just reach in from the side to retrieve your items. To that end, I am ecstatic for you.<em> I</em> had to physically climb into the bed and push everything toward the tailgate before I could remove it. </p><p><div type="image" title="2020 Jeep Gladiator Rubicon129" height="1333" width="2000" msid="76323174" hostid="261"></div></p><p>Despite these small inconveniences, though, I liked the Gladiator. I appreciate its existence. I respect its off-road capabilities and how stable it always felt. If I lived in the desert, preferably somewhere in the American Southwest, I'd definitely consider one. But as it currently stands, I live in Brooklyn, and in Brooklyn, the Jeep pickup truck simply feels too big to be allowed. </p><p>That being said, I have a hard time figuring out who the Gladiator is actually for. You'd think, given the popularity of midsize trucks, they would sell more quickly than Jeep could make them. It certainly seems like the automaker was betting on this very thing to happen. But it didn't.</p><p>The Gladiator went on sale during the second half of 2019. Yet, the Compass, Wrangler, Cherokee, Grand Cherokee, and even the Renegade <a href="https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/fca-us-reports-fourth-quarter-and-full-year-2019-sales-300980866.html">sold better than it did in Q4</a>. I remember automotive readers being <em>very excited</em> about the Gladiator. But it doesn't seem like many people bought them.</p><p><div type="image" title="2020 Jeep Gladiator Rubicon86" height="3000" width="2000" msid="76323177" hostid="261"></div></p><p>Perhaps it's because the Gladiator markets itself a little bit too much to the niche truck buyer. The higher price tag certainly suggests that. This truck appeals to the buyer who probably wouldn't use their Gladiator as a work tool, but rather as a recreational vehicle. A playtime buggy. A toy. </p><p>Look no further than <a href="https://media.fcanorthamerica.com/image-gallery.do?method=view&amp;imageGalleryId=1027&amp;mid=1015mid=1015">Jeep's own press images of the truck</a>, which feature it prominently at play (or doing play-adjacent activities): fording creeks, going to the beach, rock crawling, hauling a boat, and transporting kayaks and dirt bikes. This is the truck you load up with camping equipment to get to that far-out campsite that's inaccessible to everything except lifted Jeeps and donkeys. </p><p>It's not a bad territory to occupy, even if a little niche. </p><p><div type="image" title="2020 Jeep Gladiator Rubicon102" height="1333" width="2000" msid="76323179" hostid="261"></div></p>

REVIEW: The Jeep Gladiator pickup truck is a monster off road, but might be too beastly for its own good on the highway

The Tucker Carlson origin story

<div style="padding: 15px; border: 1px solid #999999; margin-bottom: 10px; font-size: 14px!important; line-height: 25px; overflow: auto; vertical-align: middle;"><em>This post is part of the "<a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/category/think-global" target="_blank">Think Global</a>" series, exploring the next big investment frontiers for investors and financial advisors. "Think Global" is sponsored by OppenheimerFunds<sup>®</sup>. <strong><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/category/think-global" target="_blank">Read more in the series »</a></strong></em></div><p><div class="KonaFilter image-container"><div class="image"><p class="source"><span>REUTERS/Gopal Chitrakar</span></p></div><p></p></div></p>
<p><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">Most agree that we have witnessed the end of a massive, three-decade bull market in the bond market.</span></p>
<p>Some are also skeptical of the potential for returns in the stock market in the years ahead, given common valuation multiples that are currently above historical averages.</p>
<p>We asked a few of our favorite traders, strategists, and economists for their our best investment ideas for the next 10 years. Here's what they told us:</p>
<h1>1. Greek GDP warrants</h1>
<p><span style="line-height: 1.5em;"><br />"These instruments are a bi-product of Greek debt restructuring and will pay a cent a year if and when Greek GDP hits certain thresholds. They won't pay those cents for several years yet because Greek GDP is still some way from the triggers, so they are suited to the patient professional investor with a long term horizon. But in the meantime default risk is tiny; it's hard to default when you only have to pay in good times."</span></p>
<p><em>-Gabriel Sterne, fixed income economist at Exotix</em></p>
<h1>2. Qatari stocks</h1>
<p><br />"On a ten year view I'd invest in the Tehran stock exchange, but given its difficult for US citizens in particular to do so, I'd pick the Doha Stock Market in Qatar. Qatar is a country with a GDP per citizen of around $1m that will be investing aggressively into World Cup 2022 to transform itself into a destination for millions of tourists. The country's stock exchange is being promoted to the main MSCI Emerging Markets index this May and trades at under 10x earnings (versus a historic level of 15-20x) with a 5% dividend yield and likely EPS growth of 10%, backed by the government who are extremely shareholder friendly given the locals own the majority of shares. The currency is pegged to the US dollar with appreciation potential. If/when US rates start to rise, net interest margins of local banks will expand dramatically. An easy way to invest is the closed-end Qatar Investment Fund listed in London, which gives you index exposure at a 10% discount to NAV. This should easily triple over 10 years in dollar terms with minimal downside risk."</p>
<p><em>-Emad Mostaque, strategist at NOAH Capital Markets</em></p>
<h1>3. Chinese consumer sector</h1>
<p><br />"No brainer."</p>
<p><em>-Jim O'Neill, formerly of Goldman Sachs</em></p>
<h1>4. Tier-2 residential real estate</h1>
<p><br />"There is a great deal of room to rebalance income and output domestically from tier-1 cities that do not have the productivity to justify their high prices and incomes into tier-2 cities. Cities that are competitive may not be the outright <em>cheapest: </em>they are <em>cheaper</em> than tier-1 cities, but still have the fixed capital and stability to support enterprise."</p>
<p><em>-Matt Busigin, editor and principal author of Macrofugue Analytics</em></p>
<h1>5. Short volatility</h1>
<p><br />"I'd choose ZIV, an ETN that tracks short exposure to medium-term VIX futures. The reason for this choice is that the volatility risk premium is one of the best and most persistent sources of risk-adjusted returns, and selling the middle of the VIX curve has outperformed a lot of related volatility strategies."</p>
<p><em>-Jared Woodard, principal of Condor Options</em></p>
<h1>6. Farmland</h1>
<p><br />"Ten years is a long time in investments (this time 10 years ago, Eastman-Kodak was a Dow component) so a ten-year single lock-in investment is going to have to meet some criteria: (1) unlikely to be disrupted by technology; (2) meets a need somewhere towards the bottom of Maslow's pyramid; (3) produces a yield; and (4) expectation of capital gain. With this in mind, my ten-year lock-in investment would be agricultural land. The customer base is growing. The customers have little choice about buying the production from agricultural land. It produces a yield. Supply is limited (full disclosure - I own a farm)."</p>
<p><em>-Lorcan Roche Kelly, strategist at Agenda Research</em></p>
<h1>7. Mortgages</h1>
<p><br />"You are getting paid a premium for risk (extension and prepayment) that has largely been removed. And if we are entering a rising rate environment, you get to reinvest amortizing principal in higher coupons. Rates would have to fall significantly to accelerate prepayments. Plus supply will be shrinking acting as a natural cap on yields. Banks still have tepid loan demand and rising deposits. Buying Fed induced market pukes has been very profitable."</p>
<p><em>- Vince Foster, interest rate strategist</em></p>
<h1>8. International pressure pumping</h1>
<p><br />"The one investment I think I'd make to hold over the next 10 years would be in oil services, particularly focusing on international pressure pumping. While crude oil continues to ratchet upwards in price and get more and more expensive to find, natural gas through hydraulic fracturing seems to get easier with the boundaries for ever wider-scale production halted by the factionalism and arbitrary hypocrisy of government controls, particularly in the shale rich areas of South America. Those barriers must fall, given the price differential that continues to expand between crude and gas; and the international services group will be the most likely long-term benefactors - think Schlumberger (SLB) and Baker-Hughes (BHI)."</p>
<p><em>-Dan Dicker, president of MercBloc</em></p>
<h1>9. Southeast Asia</h1>
<p><br />"On the horizon of the next ten years I would probably be looking at Southeast Asia, very favorable demographics and growth potential, and property in the U.S."</p>
<p><em>-Michael McDonough, chief economist at Bloomberg LP</em></p>
<h1>10. Real assets</h1>
<p><br />"In particular, residential housing looks like an attractive long term bet, especially in places where big adjustments have taken place - or there hasn't been a bubble in the first place. Baltics in Europe is one good spot with favorable macroeconomic environment amidst stimulative external conditions. Latvia joining the euro zone this year, and Lithuania likely from 2015, the countries will likely catch up with Estonia where home prices are already rising at a double digit pace."</p>
<p><em>-Aurelija Augulyte, macro strategist at Nordea</em></p>
<h1>11. Top 100 S&amp;P 500 market cap stocks</h1>
<p><br />"And sunscreen."</p>
<p><em>-David Bianco, chief U.S. equity strategist at Deutsche Bank</em></p>
<h1>12. Something with yield</h1>
<p><br />"Phew, it's going to be low return world. Something with as solid yield as possible in a decent currency. I own a yield play in Singapore dollars, as an example. Or, if you can find it, rural land with a yield (so probably counts out US farms)."</p>
<p><em>-Gerard Minack, principal of Minack Advisors</em></p>
<h1>13. Base metal and rare earth mining companies</h1>
<p><br />"If I could own something for the next 10 years, it'd have to be base metal and rare earth mining companies. It's an area that has not matched in any sense the uplift in global equities. China is key. Any dips in copper prices have been bought by the Chinese as they add to inventories. Once these start to run out and when we see a proper return to growth here in Europe and the US, I would expect to see these very much in demand. On the rare earth metals, the fact that China is moving to tighten control on this industry. Their uses in defence and telecommunications, particularly make them a relevant investment for the future."</p>
<p><em>-Brenda Kelly, chief market strategist at IG Markets</em></p>
<h1>14. U.S. small cap stocks</h1>
<p><em><br />-Rich Bernstein, founder of Richard Bernstein Advisors</em></p>
<h1>15. Urban core real estate in "Rust Belt" cities</h1>
<p><br />"Not only do I think this is the best investment out there on a risk-adjusted basis, I don't think it's particularly close. White flight and the de-industrialization of our cities is a trend that's over. The white population of Detroit shrank by <a href="http://cornersideyard.blogspot.com/2012/05/what-really-makes-detroit-different.html" target="_blank">96% from 1950-2010</a>. Meanwhile, while the outer suburbs of those cities continues to shrink, the inner cores are getting younger and more educated. While house prices per square foot are north of $1,000 in parts of San Francisco and New York, you can buy into most of these cities for under $100/square foot. It's only a matter of time before we start talking about places like Buffalo and Pittsburgh and Milwaukee as the Berlins and Brooklyns for the next generation. Not all of these cities will be home runs, and it'd be preferable to live in one yourself if you're going to invest, but the list of options is very long: Milwaukee, Chicago, Indianapolis, Cleveland, Cincinnati, Detroit, Pittsburgh, Buffalo, Hartford, Providence, Kansas City, St. Louis, Memphis, and Birmingham, for starters. I'd focus on ones with pro sports teams, strong universities, and busier airports."</p>
<p><em>-Conor Sen, portfolio manager at New River Investments</em></p>
<h1>16. Long stocks, short bonds</h1>
<p><em><br />-Joe LaVorgna, chief U.S. economist at Deutsche Bank</em></p>
<h1>17. International health care</h1>
<p><br />"For the next 10 years: healthcare, pharmaceutical, bio-pharma and bio-tech stocks with significant markets exposure outside the US. Investment case for these is made by the expectation that once Emerging and Middle-Income economies' middle and upper-middle classes satisfy their demand for leather couches and SUVs, their demand will refocus on their health and life expectancy. This demand acceleration will likely coincide with continued build up of health threats to the emerging markets from internal pollution and environmental degradation, and accelerating ageing and health concerns in the advanced economies. Timing for the demand pressures materialisation is a lot longer than 10 years, but investment window for pricing these risks forward is closing fast. The next 'perfect storm' in global economies is likely to be ageing-related one."</p>
<p><em>-Constantin Gurdgiev, adjunct professor of finance at Trinity College, Dublin, and University College, Dublin</em></p>
<h1>18. Yourself</h1>
<p><br />"In yourself, from both a physical and educational perspective."</p>
<p><em>-Sam Stovall, chief equity strategist at S&amp;P Capital IQ</em></p>
<h1>19. Short commodities</h1>
<p><br />"For the next 10 years, I like shorting commodities. I expect little inflation-and more likely, deflation-so changes in real and nominal commodity prices will be about the same. The attached chart shows that real commodity prices have fallen steadily since the mid-1800s, despite huge growth in commodity demand from <span>the American Industrial Revolution after the Civil War, forced industrialization of Japan in the late 1800s, </span><span>mass-produced autos starting in the 1920s, etc. </span><span>Commodity price spikes caused by demand leaps in the Civil War and World Wars I and II were soon </span><span>reversed as were price leaps due to the oil supply constraints in the 1970s. Many look for jumping </span><span>commodity prices in future years since there are limited amounts of copper in the earth's crust, two billion </span><span>more mouths to feed, upgrading of diets and rising consumer spending in developing countries, etc. </span><span>The reality, however, is that human ingenuity always beats threatened shortages. Coke made from coal saved </span><span>the Industrial Revolution, which was threatened by a shortage of hardwood trees to make charcoal to smelt </span><span>iron. In the early 1800s, overhunting had decimated the world's whale population to the point that the lights </span><span>would go out from a lack of whale oil, many feared. Then in 1858, Edwin Drake drilled a crude oil well in </span><span>Titusville, Pa., and kerosene lamps rode to the rescue. I can recall when serious economists forecast the end </span><span>of telecommunications growth because of shortages of copper for wires. Then came fiber optics."</span></p>
<p><em>-Gary Shilling, economist</em></p>
<h1>20. The S&amp;P 500</h1>
<p><span><br />"I hate to be unimaginative here, but 10 years is a long time to hold a very specific investment.  Sure the energy renaissance has a long time horizon, but what will it look like in 3 years much less 10? Who can say? I'd say the S&amp;P 500. I have a chart below that is my favorite chart of all time. I created it over a decade ago and it hasn't failed me yet.  It simply shows the trailing PE and the next 10 years price return for the S&amp;P 500.  Below is the shortened version of the one I have going back many decades. It's amazing right? Future Nobel Prize, baby! AMIRIGHT?! Take that Shiller-this one actually WORKS. But I digress… Anyway, right now it shows the S&amp;P 500 will generate about an 8% price return on average over the next 10 years. Add a 2% dividend and you get 10%. A 10% annualized total return is not a bad deal compared to bonds, commodities, or cash for the next 10 years. I'll take it."</span></p>
<p><em>-Jeff Kleintop, chief market strategist at LPL Financial</em></p>
<h1>21. Energy-intensive U.S. manufacturing</h1>
<p><span><br />"Energy-intensive manufacturing in the USA, generic biopharmaceutical products and any company globally that will be able to lever off the Chinese consumer."</span><span style="line-height: 1.5em;"> </span></p>
<p><em>-David Rosenberg, chief economist and strategist at Gluskin Sheff + Associates and author of "Breakfast with Dave"</em></p>
<h1>22. Financial planning</h1>
<p><br />"As it turns out, that is an easy question: Our own business. <span>I have been plowing money into our own asset management business. This is not a reflection </span><span>on the price of stocks or bonds, but more on the state of the financial industry. </span><span>Wall Street is very good at serving its own interests, but terrible at serving its clients. </span><span>This has created a huge opportunity or anyone who wants to put their clients first. </span><span>I expect we have a 5 year ramp up before the rest of Wall Street starts to notice something is amiss. </span><span>I believe there are 4 areas ripe for disruption: 1) Full service Financial Planning/Asset management, </span><span>2) Retirement Planning, 3) low cost asset management, 4) RIA Advisory services to members of the industry. </span><span>We are in the midst of a very significant set of changes; The financial services industry is likely to look very different 10 years hence."</span></p>
<p><em>-Barry Ritholtz, chief investment officer at Ritholtz Wealth Management</em></p>
<h1>23. Global stocks</h1>
<p><span><br />"10 years is a long time. I am partial to Asian growth and was initially going to offer EWH or EWS but they both have small populations. The Indonesian ETFs give exposure to a large population with trading relationships throughout Asia but also seems too concentrated.  I would offer up Vanguard's Total World Stock Index ETF (VT) as a decent alternative. Though not having nearly enough exposure to emerging markets, it should offer downside protection in a big sell-off and inflation + performance on the upside."</span><span style="line-height: 1.5em;"> </span></p>
<p><em>-Daniel A. Baffoe, Treasury sales/strategist at large</em></p>
<h1>24. Investment discipline</h1>
<p><span><br />"Practice Investment discipline - conduct quarterly portfolio reviews, practice diversification midst, rotation, use losses to offset tax liabilities from profit taking - back to basics. Never forget the quote Mark Twain is credited for: 'History may not repeat itself but it often rhymes.'"</span></p>
<p><em>-John Stoltzfus, chief market strategist at Oppenheimer</em></p>
<h1>25. Value stocks</h1>
<p><span style="line-height: 1.5em;"><span><br />"GVAL (Cambria Global Value ETF) buys equities in the 10 cheapest countries as determined by long-term valuation metrics like the Shiller CAPE ratio."</span></span></p>
<p><em><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">-Meb Faber, chief investment officer and portfolio manager at Cambria Investment Management</span></em></p>
<h1>26. Intellectual, social, physical, and emotional capital</h1>
<p><span style="line-height: 1.5em;"><span><span><span><br />"Giving stocks picks and the like is not the business of </span><a href="http://abnormalreturns.com/" target="_blank">Abnormal Returns</a><span>  I have written a lot over the past couple of years talking about the advances in low-cost investing. So in that regard investors would do well to take advantage of this '</span><a href="http://abnormalreturns.com/financial-innovation-for-once-works-for-the-investor/" target="_blank">free lunch</a><span>.' So instead of spending countless hours trying to tease out the next hot stock why not invest in yourself. I know that sounds like a bit of new age cliche, but hear me out. The best investment you can make with your marginal dollar (or hour) is in your intellectual, social, physical and emotional capital. Most investment advice is about staying rich. The key to a richer, fuller life is maximizing your potential. For the vast majority of people time spent in front of the computer searching for the next Twitter or Tesla isn't it."</span></span></span></span></p>
<p><em><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">-Tadas Viskanta, founder and editor of Abnormal Returns</span></em></p>

Wall Street's Brightest Minds Reveal Their Best Investment Ideas For The Next Decade

<p><span><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_right"><div><div class="image on-image"></div><p></p></div></div>Ah, virtual assistants! Nobody really knows where these are headed, but by now it should be obvious that the big three mobile platforms are intent on pushing the frontier forward in what is shaping up to be yet another battlefield. Quite frankly, however, while the industry as a whole has been checking up with Google Now and Apple's Siri every now and then to see how each is doing and how they compare against each other, it's only now that Microsoft has finally entered the space that this is starting to feel like a real race. But before we talk about specifics and discuss where each of the three is likely headed, it's important to first understand where each is coming from.</span><br><br><span>Most of you would assume that Siri is the one we should start with -- after all, when Apple introduced the personal assistant with the iPhone 4S in 2011, it was the first to do so, and it kept that title for a while. But the truth is that Siri and Google Now (introduced in 2012), while technically older products, aren't exactly the veterans here, for Microsoft has been toying with voice recognition for over a decade now. Sure, the form factor was different back then, but the truth is that the company has (or should have) more experience in this particular niche than both of its competitors taken together.</span><br><br><span>And this shows with Cortana, which, despite its BETA tag, is shaping up to be a pretty impressive alternative, and quickly. Indeed, Microsoft has come a long way since this historical blooper, at least judging by its Halo-inspired virtual assistant which is now part of Windows Phone 8.1. Why, however, and what about the rest?</span></br></br></br></br></p><h2><strong>Wait, what? Voice recognition engines</strong></h2><p><span>Yeah, that's where we'll start, because guess what -- if your virtual assistant is unable to understand what you're saying to it with a very high degree of success, then the frustration alone will drive you away from using it and turn it into a useless product. As it happens, the trio of Google Now, Siri, and Cortana, all handle themselves well enough to keep you around, but they're not all equally good.</span></p><p><span><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image"></div><p></p></div></div></span></p><p><span>Without a doubt, Siri is the best... at being the least capable. Indeed, while the voice recognition engine it is packing is pretty darn good overall, it's starting to lag behind Google Now and Cortana. What's worse, both Google Now and Cortana will fix what they consider misunderstood queries on the fly rather successfully, while Siri will simply keep to what it "thinks" you said, and make no edits even when an obviously nonsensical query is formed. This means that Apple's virtual assistant is sometimes left perplexed, while its competitors rush to give you the right answer.</span><br><br><span>With Siri out of the horse race (in this category), it's down to Google Now and Cortana to battle it out. Gun-to-</span>our-head, we'd say that Google Now wins this one, but we still can't deny that Cortana is close. Very close.</br></br></p><h2>Helpfulness</h2><p>The<span>n again, even a flawless voice recognition engine is useless if the digital assistant in question is just not programmed well enough to adequately provide help with your agenda and answer your many questions. You know, the kind of things that make an assistant. And, the less you have to do, the better.</span><br><br><span>This particular category, however, is far more complex, and it's worth defining what 'helpfulness' really is in this context. The way we see it, a good virtual assistant should go beyond the basics of just being able to set an appointment, open an app, or call/text a contact. Obviously, these are essential, but they can't quite top getting an extended answer to queries such as "When is Independence Day", which causes Google Now to go into history mode, or being able to teach Siri how to correctly pronounce your name. It's also very helpful if the assistant in question can perform tasks without requiring any input other than your voice -- a bit like how Siri handles tasks like setting reminders, and not at all how Google Now will have you do the grunt work in that same scenario, even if that gives you more control.</span></br></br></p><p><br /></p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image"></div><p></p></div></div><br><span></span><p><span>In other words, the virtual assistant right now needs to be talkative and understanding of where the conversation is going. Unfortunately, while Siri has its moments, it can't quite compare with Google Now, which is by far the most chatty assistant of the three, and in a good way. Cortana, at this point, is somewhat silent, and usually just serves the information and lets your eyes do the work. Perhaps most importantly, only Google Now currently supports follow up questions. This allows you to quickly get further information, without ever having to touch the phone. For example, if you first ask which the capital of Germany is, and then simply follow up with a question along the lines of what's the population or time or weather there, Google Now will know that you're still referring to Berlin, Germany's capital. Siri and Cortana, on the other hand, treat every query as a separate entity, unless you stumble upon what we would call pre-made scenarios, e.g. reminders, where the developer has taught the assistant to ask X and Y questions in order to carry out the task. So Siri and Cortana will come up with follow-up questions if you want to set a reminder or call somebody, but that's not comparable with what Google Now has going on.</span><br><br><span>Cortana, on the other hand, has a pretty neat piece of functionality built-in: the ability to set reminders for the next time you interact with people. So if you want to be reminded to congratulate someone on his job promotion next time you contact or are contacted by him or her, whether through a call or a text, Cortana will be there for you. Right now, this is unique to her, and it's a considerable advantage.</span><br><br><span>Last, but certainly not least, it is important to note that Google Now is currently the only assistant that you can call up by simply saying "OK, Google" whilst you're at the homescreen of most latest-generation flagships. Siri will be getting always-listening support in iOS 8 -- only if you're inside the Siri interface or tethered to an outlet, </span>though -- so until then you either have to long-press the Home button to summon her, or enable the 'Raise to Speak' feature so that Siri starts whenever you pull your iPhone to your ear. For the time being, Cortana is only accessible by long-pressing the search key on Windows Phone 8.1-based devices.</br></br></br></br></p><h2>Scope</h2><p>Of course, the scope of supported questions (and types of served results) also differs, and is an important factor when deciding the trio's helpfulness.</p><p><span>In general, Google Now is ahead, and is rarely befuddled by your query. It can define words and objects, is aware of your bookings, provides flight data, and will give you an overlook of how your favorite sports team is doing. It'll also tell you about important landmarks if asked, break down food data like calories, carbs, and salts, and recite the cast of your favorite movie or TV show and its theme song. To be fair, Siri and Cortana won't disappoint you if asked the same, it's just that they don't do as great a job in our opinion, as, in comparison, their answers are usually less extensive and will often have you read the information for yourself (especially Cortana), as if you're performing a normal search.</span></p><p><span>&#xa0;</span></p><p><span><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image"></div><p></p></div></div></span><br><span>Indeed, the way information is served is pretty important, especially since most queries will, ideally, trigger both an overview spoken response, but also provide you with at-a-glance summary (often a table (Siri) or an accompanying picture (Google Now / Cortana)). Google Now also usually provides you with more control on how to proceed next when compared with Cortana and Siri, so if you ask about the Statue of Liberty, you'll also get shortcuts to navigation, call information, and the landmark's very own website. Google Now is also far more open to queries from all around the world, while Siri will refuse to support a whole slew of queries if it doesn't have official regional support, including ones that don't really rely on having in-depth support for the locale. </span>Ugh!</br></p><h2>Where Google Now loses, big time</h2><p>So if you know nothing about the above virtual assistants, your impression so far will likely be that Google Now has a lead on the rest. While that's generally true, Google Now loses in one specific category right now: having a soul and being fun.<br><br><span>Objectively, Google Now is the least likable assistant of the three, as it's always down to the point. It's like that colleague you have who seems to be all about the work, and none for the fun. This is not overly surprising, however, as it's obvious that the three companies envision what is still a fledgling category differently.</span><br><br><span>To be more specific, it seems like Apple and Microsoft agree that for a virtual assistant to be successful, it needs to not just be a tasks-obsessed robot, but more of a companion that will know you and perhaps even "get you" in the future. For example, did you know that Cortana can sing? That's right, she'll actually sing you a song. And, as mentioned, Siri will learn to better pronounce your name, and is also aware of your birthday. Both will tell you </span>that they like you a lot if asked, and even tell you a joke when you're feeling blue, or turn you down when you make the inevitable inappropriate (and weird) move on them. None of these will work with Google Now, which will simply perform a web search and basically give you a blank stare.&#xa0;</br></br></br></br></p><h2>Speed</h2><p>It's hard to definitively say which of the three assistants is the fastest, as comparing them directly can sometime feel like comparing apples and oranges. They're alike, but not the same thing.</p><p>The main reason behind this is t<span>hat Google, Apple, and Microsoft, all programmed their assistants differently, so they don't always pull the same type of information. In other words, Google Now usually provides the most thorough answers, while Cortana often offers the least. Apple is somewhere in the middle, and usually ties with either of the other two depending on the query.</span><br><br><span>All said, it's generally true that Google Now is a bit faster than Siri, which, in turn, is a bit faster than Cortana. In the table below, we've basically defined speed as the time it takes either of the three to recognize what you're saying, ask the server it utilizes on the back end, and fetch you a result. As you can see, however, the differences on the whole are pretty small.</span><br /></br></br></p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image"></div><p></p></div></div><br><span></span><p><span>Now, while Cortana came last, we do have to say that we're feeling more lenient towards it -- sure, Microsoft has a ton of experience in this area, but it's also true that Cortana is still officially in BETA and is available only in the US. This, more than likely, means that Microsoft is yet to scale its servers' processing power up, so Cortana's speed is pretty satisfying at this point. Hopefully, it will get even better.</span></p><h2>Conclusion and expectations</h2><p><span>In conclusion, it really comes down to what exactly you're looking for when it comes to virtual assistants. If you have a no-nonsense-give-me-the-facts type attitude, then you're most likely going to side with us when we say that Google Now is the best right now, at least when it comes to providing you with the answers you need, and fast. What's more, Google Now is far more pro-active than the rest, and offers insights and help even when you're not interacting with it in any way.</span><br><br><span>A big reason for that is the fact that Google is a master at search, and has a pretty obvious interest in pushing Google Now farther and farther, specifically now that Android Wear is a reality that the company is seemingly intent on supporting well. Indeed, if anybody stands to win from having the most polished, contextually-aware assistant right now, it's Google.</span></br></br></p><p></p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_left"><div><div class="image on-image"></div><p></p></div></div><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">As for Siri, while it is inferior to Google Now on the whole, one can't deny that Apple just has a way of doing things in an appealing way, and its virtual assistant is a good example. Unlike Google Now, it feels like Siri actually has a soul. Unfortunately, and while Apple hasn't abandoned the project, it feels like Siri isn't much of a priority for Cupertino at this point</span><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">Speaking of personality, we can't forget Cortana, either. She can sing, after all! Sure, that's more flavor than anything else, but it does indicate the path Microsoft has taken with its very solid personal assistant. </span><p><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">We do understand that Cortana still has that "new" appeal of course, yet, quite frankly, we can't help but be very excited about what Microsoft has in store for her. It's one heck of a solid BETA piece of code, that's for sure.</span><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">Ultimately, however, the truth is that these assistants are still a very tiny consideration when it comes to what drives consumers towards this or that platform. A bit like wearables right now, these little helpers are still very much a work-in-progress, so the sky is the limit. The cynics among us, however, could construe their current state of being a little more than particularly smart search engines as a sign of weakness for the whole paradigm, and it's hard to argue with that right now. But, hey, to each their own, right?</span></p><div><div></div></div><p class="embed-spacer"></p></br></br>

Here's the real difference between Google Now, Siri, and Cortana

<p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_right"><div><div class="image on-image"><p class="source"><span>Justin Sullivan/Getty Images</span></p></div><p></p></div></div></p><p>Transcripts of Hillary Clinton's private speeches appeared to be included in a trove of thousands of emails released by Wikileaks on Friday.</p><p>The transcripts reveal Clinton's remarks on a number of topics, including her views on elements of public policy, the financial crisis of 2008, and a self-assessment of her own likability.</p><h2>Here's some examples:</h2><ul><li>In one speech reportedly given at the National Multi-Housing Council in 2013, Clinton asserted that one needs a "both a public and a private position" on policy.</li><li>During a 2014 speech at Goldman-Black Rock, Clinton reportedly admitted that she was "far removed" from her humble beginnings "because [of] the life I've lived and the economic, you know, fortunes that my husband and I now enjoy." "But I haven't forgotten it," Clinton allegedly added in that speech.</li><li>Clinton appeared to criticize the response to the financial crisis of 2008, saying at a Goldman Sachs conference in 2013, "I think there's a lot that could have been avoided" if the US government's response to the crisis was handled "with greater transparency."</li></ul><p>The highly-sought after speeches given to investment<span> banks like Goldman Sachs and other corporations</span> became an issue for Clinton in the primaries when her Democratic rival Bernie Sanders accused her of taking large donations from Wall Street. When she was pressed about releasing them, the former secretary of state said she "would look into it."</p><p>Between 2014 and 2015 Hillary and Bill Clinton earned more than $25 million from private speaking engagements, <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/hillary-and-bill-clinton-earned-more-than-25-million-for-speeches-since-2014-2015-5">Reuters reported.</a></p><p>The release of the emails is the latest effort by Wikileaks to reveal sensitive documents in the lead-up to the Nov. 8.</p><h2>Read the alleged transcripts below: </h2>      <div class="margin-top">        <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/map-shows-how-religion-spread-around-the-world-2016-9">This animated map shows how religion spread across the world</a></h3>        <div>            <div>        <div class="ooyala-video-player" data-video-autoplay="false" data-video-id="F5aHR4dTob1y4-cHP5qNzXITGcq1vPVW" data-player-variable="ooyalapopvideo" id="ooyalaplayer_popvideo" style="width:1280px;height:720px"></div>        </div>        </div>            </div>

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